IAC Minutes 8-13-2020
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City of Scandia
14727 209 th St. N. PO Box 128, Scandia, Minnesota 55073
Phone (651) 433 -2274 Fax (651) 433 -5112 http://www.ci.scandia.mn.us
Internet Action Committee
Location: Online Streaming (Boxcast and GoToMeeting)
Thursday, August 13, 2020 at 6:15pm
Attendance: Cathy Mackiewicz, Chair Robert Wilmers, John Carney, K. C. Douglas, and
Vice Chair Marschall Smith.
Absent: None
Also in Attendance: City Council Liaison Patti Ray, City Council Liaison Steve Kronmiller,
and City Administrator Ken Cammilleri.
Call to Order – Chair Wilmers called the meeting to order at 6:15pm.
Approval of Agenda – Motion by Carney, seconded by Mackiewicz, to approve the agenda
with an amendment to include discussion about public use of the Community Center during
Covid-19. Motion carried.
Approval of Minutes from July 9, 2020 – Motion by Willmers, seconded by, to approve
the agenda with this amendment to correct an error of listing Cathy Mackiewicz over K. C.
Douglas as present. Motion carried.
Discussion of Public Comment – The Committee discussed Nancy and Peter Stalland’s
email to the Committee. Chair Wilmers offered to follow up with Midco. Ray volunteered
to follow up with their email message.
The Committee agreed to expand internet access on the community center grounds and at
Hay Lake Park. It was determined that this would be used for the Cares Act
Fund. Cammilleri is to come up with estimates and follow up for the next meeting.
Update on the 2020 Minnesota DEED Broadband Expansion Grant Project with
MIDCO – Forde announced that construction completion target date is September 15th
. The hope is to have all 6 new nodes ready by Oct 15th. The entire project includes 14,568
feet of underground cabling over an area of 17.5 miles. While Midco is in the area with their
crews, property owners will need to approve long drops. Midco wants potential customers
with long driveways to address solutions to set up a pedestal at the end of driveways to
connect services. Committee members agreed to help spread the word and market the
opportunity.
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City of Scandia
14727 209 th St. N. PO Box 128, Scandia, Minnesota 55073
Phone (651) 433 -2274 Fax (651) 433 -5112 http://www.ci.scandia.mn.us
Midco Ribbon Cutting Ceremony - Midco is coordinating with the City at noon at Hay
Lake Park ribbon cutting ceremony on Wednesday, September 16th to celebrate Scandia’s
new Internet expansion. A boxed lunch will be served to all attendees. Guests will wear
masks. Email guest list will be sent September 3rd, and will issue a promotion. From 3:30pm
to 6:30pm at the Scandia Farmers Market, Midco will be giving away tote bags in black and
grey with Midco and Scandia logos. The day will also host a youth storyboard contest of 8
participants. Students will be asked to write stories about how their family uses the internet
with a picture. Winners will receive a 50 dollar bill in a Midco frame. Visitors to the event
will vote for the finalists. $200 will go to the winners school for school supplies. 250 boxed
dinners will also be served. A invitees list has been sent to Midco which includes the Mayor,
City Council, City Administrator, Deputy Clerk, Internet Action Committee members, EDA
Commissioners , Bill Strusinski, Bob Dettmer, Karin Housley, and Tom Emmer. The
Location will be at Hay Lake Park, 14001 Old Marine Trail N. Ray indicated that she
would be meeting with Scandia Elementry’s Principal to coordinate the project.
Website - The committee compiled a list of information that they would like to have on the
City’s website. This includes:
- Have a link to the latest information provided by Midco including their
construction map.
- Add a link to the FCC’s website for RDOF, DEED, and instructions on how
to send and email comments and inquiries.
Grant Program Status – The Committee discussed this year’s application for 2021 Minnesota
DEED Broadband Expansion Grant with Midco. Midco is currently reviewing their entire
service area and currently plan to select 30 potential applications, and the typically shink in
down. Scandia is currently within the 12 potential applications. Midco is looking at service
areas adjacent to current expansion areas. It appears this application may be focused on only
two expansion areas, but these areas are anticipated to meet the necessary criteria for scoring
well in the grant selection process. The cost for a household to connect is typically around
$5,000 for projects being considered in this grant application, which is beneficial towards
grant scoring on this request. To put this in perspective, normally service providers look for
connection costs more in the territory of $2,000 to $1,500. The City’s commitment to
provide $165,000, which will likely also help the viability of the grant. There will be several
more weeks of analysis. Frontier may be able to challenge this grant application, although
they did not do so on the 2020 grant application.
No updates for RDOF.
Smith is looking into the State’s Settlement with Frontier Communications. He will provide
a full report next month. Willmers offered to contact Frontier Regional Managers to find
out if the settlement with the State of Minnesota might offer funds to improve services in
Scandia. Carney reported that the State has likely collected the $750,000 restitution. The
Committee agreed that we need to inform the community that Customers in the community
can file their claims. Carney also reported that there will be an additional remedy to
consumers that is anticipated to start next year. He also noted that in June 2021, Frontier
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City of Scandia
14727 209 th St. N. PO Box 128, Scandia, Minnesota 55073
Phone (651) 433 -2274 Fax (651) 433 -5112 http://www.ci.scandia.mn.us
has to turn of over a network compliance report, which might give us some access to see the
data on the status of the network.
The Committee made a request to have the Mayor send a thank you letter to the DEED
Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner to thank them for the 2020 grant award.
Scandia Broadband Expansion Plan – The Committee discussed Council Liaison
Kronmiller’s concerns regarding expansion planning and Midco cooperation. He explained
that he is frustrated by the inability to get and share complete information from Midco. He
argued that Midco has not been willing to share enough information to allow the community
to account for areas that will be served and those that will not. He requested that Midco
provide the City with an accurate list of properties served.
Committee members discussed Kronmiller’s concerns and pointed out that the data will be
made available when the final as-built information is finalized. Some members pointed to
the DEED Grant agreement that requires reporting and that these reports are available as
public data. They argued that the DEED agreement and the Mayor’s grant award letter
provide the City with adequate legal leverage to assure cooperation and to obtain the
information needed to help promote and support project buildout.
Next Meeting Date – The Committee agreed to hold its next meeting on Thursday,
September 10, 2020 at 6:00pm. The meeting will be conducted electronically and
telephonically if the Governor’s Executive Order continues the existing requirements.
Adjournment – The Committee adjourned at 8:47pm upon successful motion by Douglas,
seconded by Mackiewicz.
Minutes Prepared by:
Ken Cammilleri, City Administrator